Bottle diggins from the yard, so far.

[Jim West Pa]

Last week we had one day o' spring, followed by one day o' summer, and now winter's back.

Here is the heartbreakers and misc stuff.
I sure wish the wee green one above the pitcher piece were whole.
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I jist love how ya never know what yer gonna unearth doin this.
One o' the cool things 'bout this is that all this stuff was tossed as trash
from our house goin back 170+ years.
Now we're diggin it back up and takin it back into the very same house
as collectables and decoration.Whoda thunk

Here are the keepers so far.
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We have only scratched the surface on one of the 3 dumps we've found.
There is still the privies to dig yet also.

Can anyone please tell me how y'all clean the inside o' yer bottles ?

 

[kODIAKCLUB]

That iron piece in the middle shaped like a shoe, we found a complete one. In what we think was an old cobblers shop. Very cool. Where are you located? New England?

 

[Jim West Pa]

n/t

 

[dixiedigger57]

that is a cobbler shoe tool, various sizes made for the different size feet. it looks like childs size. they fit upside down on a stand for the cobbler to hammer in the hobnails. i think it is called a shoe last or something. I have a set of them and the iron stand, inherited from a great uncle born in the 1800 hundreds.
a local bottle collector extraordinare, nationally known but now in bad health ,tumbles his bottles in a pvc tube, capped off on the ends, with chiclet pieces of copper and brass metal. the stuff is poured inside with stopper inserted or hose attached on the end, and a stopper clamped on it. its put in the pvc tube with more filings outside, about half full. it is laid sideways on a roller system like hotdogs and sausages on the conveneince store cooker and turned for days slowly. the machine has a heavy electric motor. you can build or buy one commercially. or pay a local collector maybe. friends electrical bill is astronomical, he keeps several machines going non stop. the bottles are cool, but be carefull with washing. water temp can cause hidden cracks or bb shot marks to open up. you can just pick out the bb shot mark, and put a tiny drop of clear fingernail polish in dimple everyday for several days to fill in. no dishwasher! some chemicals like lye can generate heat and excellerate cracks. lime away, clr or one of those are ok. baby bottle brush and soap and water. check for hairline cracks, had one get a friend using a brush, nasy cut. the apothecaries bottles can be quite collectible. books a million or barnes and nobles store has best references books. I WOULD SIFT DIRT IF POSSIBLE! great dirt! look for marbles made of clay, happy hunting---- the dixiedigger57

 

[Jim West Pa]

We are most definately siftin every scoop o' dirt we move.

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And all that wonderfull composted dirt and forest debri is goin into our garden

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We're cleanin out every tiny shard o' glass and iron and
settin what's left in the sifter aside. I will bring it all down to the house in the wheel barrow
where we will then hose it all down and search thru it for things
like marbles, stoppers, coins etc .

 

[dixiedigger57]

make sure there is not lead contamniation and bad chemicals. poisons were bought otc and arsenic, asbestos, some nasty stuff, all found in the dumps.

 

[Jim West Pa]

while diggin, a small area had a very strong smell of licorice. It was only a small area tho that we unearthed and after a while it went away. I know that some poisons can have a 'sweet' odor to them and wondered if this was the case here ?

 

[ronaldj2]

Are these just surface dumps? Some dumps can go down several feet. Have you found any layers of ash? Lots of folks burned their trash. You could sometimes find several layers of ash then soil and vice versa. Looks like you found some 1880,s-90's stuff. The older more valuable stuff should be coming soon. Look for "Kovels Bottles Price List at the book store I think it would be the 13th Edition (not positive). Anyhow, it is a good resource and research tool for getting the feel of what things can be worth. If you have any bottle questions I would be happy to help answer them. I started digging bottles in 78 or 79 when I was 13 years old, I have seen a few old bottles since. Have fun on your digs, be careful and stay safe. Ron

 

[Jim West Pa]

We've hit clay at about 6-7 inches on this one. I do know of at least two more dumps here but haven't done any diggin yet so don't know if they have any depth. There is also a privy site here,at least one that i'm pretty sure of the location.
Thank you very much for the info on the book. I will certainly go buy one.
I will also keep in mind yer offer if i ever have any questions.Thank you.
As soon as the weather allows here we'll be gittin back out there and hopefully will have some nice saves to post.

I just fund the book on Amazon for $7.49 and ordered it. Thanx Ron

 

[dixiedigger57]

could be fuel oil, kerosene from old lamp, or Lord knows what. i would not suggest growing food in it. it may grow weeds great, but i would not bring known dump dirt into a food source plot or near it. dig with mask if dry dirt. old friend has bad lungs, dug 40 plus yrs.